• Counter target spell, activated ability, or triggered ability. Its controller draws a card.
• Destroy another target creature or planeswalker. Its controller draws a card.
Ertai Resurrected is a flash control commander who comes down at instant speed to either counter a key spell/ability or kill a creature/planeswalker, all while you durdle with permission and removal. You hold up mana, react to threats, and grind opponents out of resources before closing with a compact combo or evasive threats. The card-draw downside is real, so you build to make those draws meaningless or to recur Ertai repeatedly.
Flash plus a flexible removal/counter ETB makes Ertai a reactive threat that demands answers at any time
Can counter activated and triggered abilities, hitting fetchlands, mana rocks, and combo triggers most counterspells miss
Blink and reanimation turn Ertai into a repeatable Counterspell-on-a-stick
Strong in Dimir control shells with access to the best removal and card advantage
Every mode hands an opponent a card, accelerating the very player you're trying to slow
As a 3/2 body it's fragile and a removal magnet, taxing your reanimation/blink package
One-shot ETB unless you invest in flicker/recursion engines
Dimir lacks fast mana and ramp, so holding up interaction strains your mana
The premier blue blowout that lets your reactive deck pivot to a decisive closing turn.
Add the best low-cost interaction (Mana Drain, Force of Negation, Swan Song) and fast mana (Mana Crypt, signets) so you can hold up Ertai while developing. Lean into a flicker/reanimation engine—Ephemerate, Deadeye Navigator, Conjurer's Closet, Reanimate—to make the ETB repeatable. Tighten the wincon with a tutorable combo or efficient evasive threats so your control shell can actually close before the extra cards you gave away matter.
Legendary Creature — Phyrexian Human Wizard
